There’s basically nothing out there that you can do now, that someone else isn’t already doing or has already done. If you want to write a book, someone else has already done it. If you want to start a blog, someone else already did it. If you want to start your own side hustle, someone else already has one.

Sometimes it’s overwhelming to see that someone else already did it, or is doing it. But what does that have to do with you?

Yes, someone already did it, but does that mean that your opportunity is gone? Does that mean that you have to let go of your dreams because it was someone else’s dream as well? Does it mean that you have to try a find something that no one else has done in order to be successful?

The answer to all those questions is NO. Just because someone else already did it or made it, doesn’t rob you from achieving your goals or creating a reality of your dreams. You can’t diminish who you want to be because you’re afraid that they might think that you are copying someone else.

What if your dream is to start a business, but a girl you know started the business before you? Does that mean that you have to relinquish your entrepreneur mindset to avoid the judgement.? Of course not. The fact that someone else started something before you doesn’t mean that you aren’t able to do it yourself too.

We are all different, and what you have to offer will be different from what the other person has to offer.

When I first decided to start this blog, I was nervous. There are thousands of other people who are blogging. I remember posting my first blog post and I got zero views for weeks. I felt a little discouraged and started comparing myself with other bloggers.

Comparison is the thief of happiness. You shouldn’t compare your beginning with someone else’s middle or ending. You should only focus on your present and on your goal. You should focus on your why.

Why do you want to start that business? Why do you want to blog? Why do you want to start a youtube channel? Why do you want to be a realtor? Why do you want to be a teacher?

The why should always be the reason why you fight and work hard to get where you want to be. Envision the best version of yourself and work to get there. Just because someone else did it before you, doesn’t mean it can’t be done again.

Think about what you are letting go of, when you don’t go after what you want to do because someone else went ahead of you. You are letting go of a dream, a promise, possibly a calling. You will never know whether that was the right thing to do, unless you just go for it.

What are you giving up because of fear??

I wanted to share a little of what I have learned about confidence.

Growing up, confidence was always seen as being stuck up. If anyone would notice a bit of confidence in you, you were immediately categorized as someone who was into her looks, or believed too much in themselves. Because of that, the little confidence within me, was put away.

I was always afraid to take a selfie or post something that might expose my confidence. It’s so easy to feel subconscious about something when people view it as a poor quality.

Because self confidence was viewed that way, I started to doubt myself and believe that I didn’t need confidence. The fear of being perceived as stuck up kept me from developing my self confidence. And I have noticed this in a lot of women, young and old.

I constantly hear things like “look how she dresses” or “she thinks she’s all that”.

When you are not given the opportunity to be yourself and to grow that self confidence, then you can’t figure out who you are and what your passion and purpose in life is.

I know it took me a long time to bring out my true self. I would hide who I really was and would bring out who people wanted me to be. Why? Well because that was what seemed acceptable, what kept me from being categorized as someone I wasn’t.

The truth is, confidence is not just about feeling confident about the way you look. Yes, it’s very important to love yourself, but you have to learn to grow inner confidence in order for it to bloom beauty on the outside. True beauty comes from within and confidence does too.

I love what the dictionary says about confidence. I thought it would say something about your physical self (it does, but it’s not the first definition).

con·fi·dence[ˈkänfədəns]NOUN the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.”

Read that again! Keys words in that definition “rely on someone” and “firm trust”.

When you’re a child, you rely on your parents. You trust that what they’re doing with you is the right thing.

Take a minute to think about something or someone that you fully trust? How does that feeling make you feel? When I think about it, I feel safe, happy, accepted and capable.

Well then we need to be able to have that same trust in ourselves. We need to learn to grow trust and be able to rely on ourselves fully.

Once I realized that I am capable of amazing things, I am someone I can trust and others can too. I started to notice my worth and that I am more than what others might think of me.

I began to be myself and started to realize how much others enjoyed the real me. The me that I constantly would hide because of what people might say.

My creative side was locked up in a box way in the back. Rarely would I go back there and slip a little something out of it. Until I realized that I was hiding a treasure. A treasure given so freely to me by the creator. I was putting away who I was.

To be honest, people will always talk. No matter what you do or don’t do. No matter what you say or don’t say, what you wear or don’t. Anything you do, there’s going to be those who admire you and those who want to see you down.

However, that shouldn’t be the reason why you hide that confidence given to you. Whether it’s just a small sprinkle of it inside of you, dig deep and bring out more of it. Work on your confidence every day.

Seek the things that you are good at. You are capable of anything and if I was able to bring out my little box of confidence out and open it, so can you!

One of my favorite things to do is to go shopping. This can be a major problem for your bank account. However, I have a few little tips for all the shopaholics out there. One of my main thing when budgeting is that I put aside some money for shopping. (I will talk about this on my next blog post where I will let you know how I save money). Once my shopping money is gone, I will NOT dig into my savings or money that is for other things. You have to build that discipline, but once you figure it out, you will be able to shop and enjoy the things that you want.

I always say that it’s not about how much you earn, it’s about how you manage what you earn. (Stay tuned for next weeks blog)

Now lets shop on a budget…

1.Always shop sales

This is very important. Always shop the sales. Hardly ever do I buy anything at full price (Tip two: I’ll talk about full priced items). I usually go directly to the sale racks and look for the best deal. However, I don’t buy items just because they’re on sale. I look for items that I will actually use and be able to take advantage of.

My favorite places to shop are:

Target has the best clothing items. They are so in style and you can usually find an outfit for under $60. They always have the cutest accessories and all for a great price. But remember to look through their sale items first. Wait till they have buy 1 get one 50% off.

My favorite items from Old navy are their jeans, dresses and dress pants. You can always find a sale item at old navy. And even if you don’t find it on sale, they still have some of the best prices. The best part about old navy is that they constantly have 40% off. I alway wait until I can use that discount.

Believe it or not, Amazon has some of the prettiest accessories and some cute clothing items. The best part about Amazon is that you will receive your order within two days with Prime. You can always get a few items for under $20 and add some fashion to your closet.

You will never go wrong by shopping at Tjmaxx. To be honest, this is one of the stores that you can actually look for items at full price because they are so affordable. You will find a variety of prices and options. My most recent Tjmaxx adventure was to find a whole outfit for under $50. I exceeded my goal and paid $45.

2.Save up for the big items

Don’t use credit cards. This is the one thing I never do when it comes to shopping. I recently purchased my first Louis Vuitton purse, BUT i did not buy it on credit. It took me a few months to save up for it. If there is something that you have been wanting for a long time now, save up $10 a week, $50 a month. Whatever you are able to and your budget allows you to. Don’t buy the things you can’t afford just because you want them, wait till you have the money.

3.Use discount codes

If you’re shopping online always look through your emails first. Check for discount codes that they might have sent out. Sometimes they offer discounts and you don’t even know it because you skip through your emails like I do. When it comes to online shopping, I try to look for discount codes that will give me free shipping. I hate paying for shipping.

4.Wait for Semi-Annual Sales

Semi annual sales are my favorite. Usually stores will have the biggest sales around this time. They’re normally in December and again in the Summer. They usually put all their sale items at an extra 50% off. You can end up with so many outfits, accessories and so much more if you hold on till the biggest sales come around.

One of my favorites is Dillards. They have the biggest sale on New Years day. They do 50% off all their sale items. You can end up finding some of the best brands for under $60. So don’t miss out when this comes around.

My Little Secret: Every time I go to a store, I have a set amount. That amount will include tax and I can’t go over my budget.

I also try to stick with neutral colors, not a lot of print (I usually buy statement necklaces and earrings, shoes with print, to add color). This way I can mix and match more items.

I hope that you are able to do some shopping with these tips.

Remember to budget before you go out and spend all your money.

Once I find something that I like, I don’t like to be switching it around. Therefore, when I find the products that work for me, I stick with them forever.

I am going to share the top three products that work the best for me. First let me tell you a little bit about my skin. I have very sensitive skin, I barely look at it and I break out. Second, I have super oily skin. Third, I’ve been using these products for over a year and I absolutely love them.

1.Moisturizer

Lets start with a moisturizer. I used to avoid moisturizer because I thought that my skin didn’t need it because it was oily and it was only going to make me break out more. After an extensive research, it turns out that oily skin actually needs a lot of moisturizing because it’s producing that oil because it’s actually dry. (what????).

I wanted something soft and that didn’t feel too heavy. After trying a few moisturizers, I stumbled across the First Aid Ultra Repair Cream.

https://www.sephora.com/product/ultra-repair-cream-intense-hydration-P248407

I use it day and night and it just keeps my skin super smooth and it goes great under makeup.

2.Sunscreen

The most important product should be a sunscreen. For years I went without sunscreen. Until about a year ago, I decided to start using it. Honestly, it has improved my skin so much. I see a great difference. First of all, it’s preventing new scars and sun spots. Second, it helps with acne. Third, it help prevent skin aging.

I use the Neutrogena Sunscreen. It is very lightweight and once again, it’s perfect for under your foundation.

https://www.target.com/p/neutrogena-ultra-sheer-dry-touch-water-resistant-sunscreen-spf-30-5-fl-oz/-/A-75563527

3.Primer

My favorite Primer is the L’Oreal Matte finish. It is seriously the best. Like I mentioned before, I have very oily skin and this helps my makeup stay matte and on all day.

Bonus Product

This is my ALL time favorite cream. I use it all year long and I have been for longer than a year now. It has the perfect fresh scent and it makes you feel and smell delicious all day.

There it is, the top 3 products that you should be using this spring. (maybe all year long). What are some of your favorite products for this Spring?

When I thought about writing this post, I knew exactly what I was going to write about. I was ready. I wrote deeply from my heart, only to realize that maybe I didn’t quite understand Love yet.

I got stuck for days, constantly asking God to reveal to me what I should share. Finding inspiration from different areas of my life but nothing seemed to be giving me the concrete answer I was looking for.

I read that verse over and over, hoping that magically the answer would come to me. The verse started to sound just like words thrown out of nowhere. I kept staring at it, wishing that something would spark within me and that I would know what I was meant to write.

That’s when it hit me. Sparks did light up in me. Everything I had been thinking and the way I had been feeling was exactly what this verse meant. Gods word was clear enough now to be delivered into my heart.

Mindlessly Love has become just a word to most. It gets thrown around like a frisbee in hopes that someone might be able to catch it. We view it as something that should just happen and that wondrously we should begin to feel.

But that’s not Love.

Love is not a feeling or emotion. It’s a choice. It’s a choice we are freely given to make every single day. Love is waking up and choosing to love that person who made you feel horrible the night before. Love is choosing your husband or wife day after day. Love is choosing to be kind to your enemies. Love is choosing to have patience while you wait on unanswered prayers.

Love is God.

He gave his one and only son for us. He made a choice that was going to hurt him just to give us the gift of life. He still patiently waits for us to choose to love him. He gives kindness, despite our sinful hearts. All because he has chosen to Love us.

I challenge you to choose to love. Take that uneasy step and move forward in loving not only those who deserve it, but the ones who we think don’t.

Let’s not make “Love” be just a word. Lets be intentional in showing it, in sharing it and being persistent with it. We need to be firm in what or who we choose to love.